Plastic surgery, also known as cosmetic surgery is a procedure performed to change the appearance of a person. For some patients, this procedure means redesigning their body’s shape and contour, removing balding areas, or smoothing wrinkles. Others can opt for breast augmentation or varicose vein treatment.
Today, cosmetic surgeons from La Belle Vie perform a number of cosmetic surgery procedures. These surgical procedures are typically designed to form an image that should make you feel more comfortable and confident with your appearance. While health insurance doesn’t cover the cost of plastic surgery procedures so often, the number of patients seeking to have plastic surgery continues to increase. The following are the most common plastic surgery procedures.
Liposuction
This is a surgical procedure performed to suction fat from different areas of your body. The main aim of this plastic surgery procedure is to improve the body shape and contour of patients. There are two main types of this procedure.
- Ultrasonic-Assisted Liposuction (UAL) – in this procedure, a surgeon uses a cannula that releases ultrasonic energy, which melts fat before it’s suctioned out of the patient’s body. A UAL procedure carries more risks, like the risk of external and internal bleeding. Moreover, the surgery takes more time.
- Tumescent liposuction – this is the most common type of liposuction. First, the surgeon infuses a certain type of saline solution, together with a numbing agent, and a medication to narrow your blood vessels in the area that requires treatment. Now, this solution, together with the fat, is suctioned out of your body via a tiny hollow metal instrument known as a cannula. Patients opting for this procedure should note that it can lead to short-term retention of fluid, which lasts for a few days.
It takes a few days for the patient to recover, but this also depends on the areas where the procedure was done. However, most patients can resume their normal activities within a few days after the liposuction.
Breast Reduction
This procedure is common among women. Moreover, it’s one of the cosmetic surgery procedures covered by insurance companies, since the benefits of the procedure go a long way past enhancing your appearance.
Women with excessively large or heavy breasts have a challenge in finding clothes that fit them well. Moreover, they normally suffer from poor posture, as well as chronic back pain. Ideally, the surgery helps in reducing both the weight and size of the breasts, thus improving posture and relieving back pain as well.
Breast reduction surgery is a long-lasting solution to patients with disproportionate breasts. It takes an average of two weeks for the patients to resume their normal daily activities.
Blepharoplasty
Also known as eyelid reshaping surgery, the procedure is performed to enhance the vision of patients with eyelids that obstruct their vision. Other patients opt for this procedure for cosmetic reasons. Sagging skin or excess skin in the eye are can lead to vision impairment, and it also makes someone look older.
In this procedure, the surgeon reduces lower eyelids that have chronic wrinkling or puffiness, thus giving the patient a younger appearance. The fat pads under your eyes, giving you an appearance of eye bags are removed for the lower eyelid procedure.
Typically, you will need an average of 10 to 14 days to heal before going out again. Also, you will notice that the swelling becomes less noticeable within weeks or months.
Breast Augmentation
This is a surgical procedure performed to enlarge women’s breasts. Breast augmentation has become very popular in the U.S, and statistics indicate that over 300,000 surgical procedures are performed every year.
Most patients choose this surgical procedure because of different reasons. Some of the common reasons include enlargement of both breasts, replacement of a missing breast, or making asymmetrical breasts to be of equal size. Other patients opt for breast augmentation because of a condition known as congenital macromastia—a medical condition where breasts fail to develop fully during puberty.
There was a time when silicone implants were banned in the U.S because of the health risks that they posed. However, they’ve become popular in the current day and age. Statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) in 2018 indicate that 12% of breast augmentation patients chose silicone implants.
It takes an average of 2 weeks for breast augmentation patients to recover before they can resume their normal activities. However, patients can require additional time to heal before resuming high-impact activities, like running.
Abdominoplasty
Commonly referred to as lower body lift or tummy tuck, this procedure assists in removing the excess skin around the abdominal area. Moreover, it assists in tightening the remaining skin. Abdominoplasty is commonly performed on patients with sagging skin after shedding significant weight or women with excess skin after pregnancy.
To become an ideal candidate for this procedure, you shouldn’t have excess fat deposits in your abdomen. However, it’s perfectly ok to have excess sagging skin. Mostly, you can get back to your normal activities within two to three weeks after abdominoplasty. However, you can be limited to certain physical activities for an extended period of time, until you completely recover.
Rhinoplasty
Also known as a nose job, rhinoplasty is a plastic surgery procedure that helps in reshaping the nose, thus making it match with the patient’s face. During the procedure, the surgeon can reduce the size of the nose, or refine certain areas of the nose for a better appearance.
There are certain medical conditions, like a deviated septum where insurance pays for rhinoplasty. Patients with this condition can breathe better after the surgery. Bruising is common with this procedure, but you should expect it to fade within two weeks when most of the patients can resume work.
Rhytidectomy
Also known as a facelift, rhytidectomy is a plastic surgery procedure performed on patients with sagging skin and wrinkles on their face. In this procedure, the surgeon tightens the patient’s skin on the face, thus giving them a youthful appearance. Rhytidectomy involves smoothing deep lines, minimizing sagging, as well as pulling the skin together.
Mostly, rhytidectomy is done alongside another procedure, like a forehead lift, skin peels, or eyelid shaping, to make the patient look younger. Recovery after rhytidectomy can take a number of weeks, but the sutures are removed within 5 to 10 days.
Breast Lift
This is a plastic surgery procedure performed on women with poorly shaped or sagging breasts. Breast lift helps in repositioning a patient’s breasts for a better appearance. Typically, women undergo breast lift surgery after losing significant weight, or after pregnancy, as their breasts can appear to be deflated.
Certain patients will opt to undergo both breast lift and implant procedure at the same time, especially if they have significantly smaller breasts than before pregnancy or weight loss. You can resume light daily activities within two weeks after a breast lift. However, full physical activities should be resumed after one month.